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Bruins Get Past Flyers, 6-3

by
Staff Writer
/ Philadelphia Flyers

(Philadelphia, PA, February 19) – The line of Jeff Carter, Scottie Upshall and Kyle Calder combined for eight points, but it was not enough as the Philadelphia Flyers fell to the Boston Bruins on Monday night at the Wachovia Center, 6-3.

Philadelphia held a 2-1 lead in the second period before three unanswered Boston goals gave the Bruins the lead for good.

P.J. Axelsson tied it at 2-2 at 7:42, while Petr Tenkrat scored the next two.

First, Tenkrat found daylight past Antero Niittymaki with a wrist shot at 11:17, and later flipped in the rebound after Phil Kessel's shot was stopped by the pad of the Flyers goaltender after the Boston rookie skated the puck from the Flyers' zone to the front of the goal.

Philadelphia did not go away easily, however, as Calder picked up a goal to go along with his two assists in the game when he got the rebound of his own wraparound attempt with 3:48 to go in the second period.

Brandon Bochenski gave the Bruins back a two-goal cushion at 3:10 of the third, however, when he took the shot himself on a three-on-one rush and beat Niittymaki to the far side. An empty net goal by Marc Savard late in the game capped the scoring.

The Flyers outshot the Bruins 16-3 in the third period and 33-18 for the game, but Boston goaltender Tim Thomas made 30 saves to record the victory.

Boston's Marco Sturm scored the only goal of the first period before the teams combined for a total of six second period scores.

Philadelphia tied the game when Upshall took a pass from Carter and lifted in his fourth goal of the season just 43 seconds into the second period. Carter buried a turn-around wrist shot at 7:08 to give the Flyers their first lead, but it would not last.

Upshall's goal was his second in as many games as a Flyer.

"I really like Scottie. He has good vision, he can get around the net and he has a quick release," said John Stevens. "He is not a big guy but he's a real worker and so far we like what we see."

"I am looking at this change in cities and teams as an opportunity," said Upshall, acquired by the team last Thursday. "I've got to make the best of it. I just want to come in here and be a good fit for these guys. There are some great hockey players in this room and I am enjoying my time so far."

Carter is also impressed with his new linemate.

"He has a lot of speed, a lot of grit. He goes out and works hard. He is really good position wise on our own end and battling along the wall," said Carter.

The game also featured a lengthy fight between the Flyers' Mike Richards and Boston's Paul Mara in the second period, with both players landing punches before the linesmen broke it apart. The altercation stemmed from an argument during a scrum in the first period between the two players.

The Flyers and Bruins face each other twice more this season; in Boston on March 1 and back at the Wachovia Center on March 10.

Philadelphia takes to the road for its next two games in Buffalo on Tuesday (7:00 p.m., Versus) and Carolina on Thursday (7:00 p.m., Comcast SportsNet).

"When you have too many turnovers like that, it will cost you," said Carter. "We will learn from it and move on. We have a big game tomorrow; we will get our heads up."

FLYERS NOTESSimon Gagne's five-game goal scoring streak came to an end. â€¦ Ben Eager left the game in the second period with a right ankle sprain and did not return. â€¦ Michael Leighton was a healthy scratch for Philadelphia. â€¦ Alexei Zhitnik is scheduled to play in his 1000th NHL game on Tuesday night in Buffalo. â€¦ The Flyers are now 33-32-10-1 all-time at home against the Bruins. â€¦ Flyers fans consumed a total of 17,111 hot dogs in what was "dollar dog night" at the Wachovia Center.